Tax bill dispute leads to petition

State urged to remove "sovereign citizen" from RCS Board of Education

By Kristen V. Brown

Published 11:48 pm, Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Photo: Philip Kamrass

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Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school board member Rodney Krzykowski listens to a speaker during a board meeting at the high school library on Tuesday night Feb. 28, 2012 in Ravena, N.Y. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union ) less

Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school board member Rodney Krzykowski listens to a speaker during a board meeting at the high school library on Tuesday night Feb. 28, 2012 in Ravena, N.Y. (Philip Kamrass / Times Union ... more

On Friday, Miller and a petitioner identified as "A.B.," with the backing of the New York State United Teachers union, filed a petition alleging that Krzykowski has "deliberately" refused to pay his school tax bill for more than a decade, making him unsuitable for his role on the board.

The petition alleges that Krzykowski owes $56,225 in delinquent property and school taxes dating back to 2001, and $51,011 in unpaid state taxes dating to 1997.

"What's at issue here is the board member's responsibility under the law to pay his school taxes just like every resident," said NYSUT spokesman Carl Korn. "No one is above the law, and we expect a board member to set an example. By failing to do so, he has forfeited his right to serve as a board member."

Korn said it is extremely rare for NYSUT or private citizens to file such a suit.

"Thankfully, 99.9 percent of board members are law-abiding citizens and petitions of this sort are not necessary," he said.

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Krzykowski was elected to the board in May 2011 and sits on the board's finance committee. Krzykowski, 72, unsuccessfully ran for the board twice before winning election.

He did not respond to a request for comment.

The petition states that on "numerous occasions members of the community have expressed outrage, negativity and mistrust towards the Board" and Krzykowski due to Krzykowski's refusal to pay school taxes. The complaint alleges that his actions have led to a "hostile environment for Board meetings and mistrust between the public and the Board."

The petition says that at a Nov. 6 board meeting, Krzykowski admitted that he had not paid his school taxes for the previous year or any years prior for which he owed back taxes.

In several court documents, Krzykowski has often defined himself as a "sovereign citizen." The FBI describes such individuals as anti-government extremists who believe that even though they are in the country they are separate or "sovereign" from the United States.

The petition also alleges that at the same time that Krzykowski has refused to pay his own taxes, he voted, last April, for a 6.8 percent tax levy imposed on all members of the RCS School District. It says that though Krzykowski considers himself a sovereign citizen, he has never abstained from casting votes affecting tax levies.

The petition says that while Krzykowski subscribes to a school of thought that recognizes most forms of government as illegitimate, the school board is a "local form of government and a municipal corporation that oversees and manages a public school district's affairs."

Alan R. McCartney, interim superintendent for the district, said the suit really didn't have anything to do with the district or the board.

"Mr. Krzykowski as an individual is being challenged for his qualifications to be on the board," McCartney said. "The only one that can make that determination is the commissioner. We really have very little part in it except for that he's on the Ravena board."

He said the district would attempt to move forward "as normally as possible" while a decision is made on the case.

New York State Education Commissioner John King will eventually decide to either remove Krzykowski from the board or allow him to remain.

Krzykowski runs a tire-recovery business, RAK Tire, on the property of his Ravena home, according to his home voicemail message and documents filed with the state Department of Environmental Conservation in 2010.

He has been the subject of other charges – code violations alleging excessive garbage, weeds and inoperable or unregistered vehicles on his Route 143 property. The charges are expected to be dropped this month if Krzykowski continues to comply with demands to clean up his property.

The petition also says that Krzykowski has filed a $50 million claim against the town for violating his "sovereignty in bringing various land use code violations against him and he stamped the notice of claim with a seal that states 'Rodney A. Krzykowski, Secured Party Creditor and Trustee.' "